Tacoma City Council
Study Session
Noon, Tuesday, April 30, 2002
Tacoma Municipal Building North
728 St. Helens Ave.
City staff will update the City Council on a long-time neighborhood improvement program, and plans for the new police headquarters and neighborhood substations. Ralph Rodriguez, who administers the Local Improvement District (LID) program on behalf of Public Works, will give a presentation on how the LID program helps citizens build infrastructure improvements in their neighborhoods with shared funds. Tacoma’s LID program is a model for other communities around the country. Over the years, the city has picked up an increasing percentage of the costs for improvements such as streetlights, sidewalks, paving streets and alleys, storm sewer enhancements and burying electrical wires underground. The LID office receives more than 100 requests for help each year, but the city completes approximately 25. The requests receive attention based upon property owner support and participation. Since 1987, the LID program has completed $14 million in infrastructure improvements. The city contributes about $155,000 a year from the General Fund toward LIDs.
Lt. James Howatson of the Police Department, and Mark D’Andrea from the Public Works Construction division will give an overview of the plans and timeline for building the police headquarters at the old Costco site as well as the siting choices for the four neighborhood substations. A renovated Costco warehouse will feature Fleet Services and various police support services, such as forensics and storage for seized vehicles. The three-story headquarters building will go up in what is now the parking lot. The city plans to complete the warehouse renovation first and the headquarters and four substations during 2004. The public may attend the study session, but the council will not be taking any public comments.
Tacoma City Council
Regular Meeting
5 p.m., Tuesday, April 30, 2002
Tacoma Municipal Building
747 Market St.
Police station bonds review
The City Council will review an ordinance to sell $34.3 million tax bonds to pay for the construction of a police headquarters and four neighborhood substations. Voters approved a ballot issue for the police facility projects in February. The city intends to sell bonds through a competitive sale, which would produce proceeds as soon as June 11. The council will take public comment on the proposed ordinance and expects to vote May 7 and will take comment and vote on a related resolution finalizing the sale May 21.
Mayor to make board appointments
The City Council will take public testimony and vote on separate resolutions that would make the following appointments:
– Council member Kevin Phelps to the Pierce Transit Board for a term that will expire May 1, 2005.
– First Baptist Church of Tacoma Senior Pastor Arylce Kretschman to the Human Rights Commission for a term that will expire Jan. 8, 2003.
L Street bridge design
Citizens who cross the aging L Street Bridge may have a new bridge by 2004. As the first step of the bridge replacement project, the council will consider a $364,383 agreement for design services. The current structure, built in 1931, has a 5-ton weight limit and is deteriorating. The agreement with Entraco, Inc., will provide for plans and specifications for a new bridge that will allow for 25-ton loads. The bridge construction will cost approximately $2.3 million. The council will take public comment before voting on the proposed agreement.
